Cherry Blossom Dreams
by windybreeze
Summary: Keitaro's a flunky from Tokyo-U. He's the manager of his grandmothers inn. In some turn of events famous people end up living with him, can he cope with the pressure? Characters are OOC.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Love Hina Ken Akamatsu does. But this story is mine.

**Cherry Blossom Dream**

**Chapter one… a talk**

Under the starry sky, a young man laid on his back gazing at it. His chocolate brown eyes stared up at the twinkling diamonds in the sky. He was dressed in a white t shirt and a black jacket paired with denim pants.

He was up a hill near the Hinata Inn. He laid there relaxed, the quite nights only whisper was soft cold winds that blew through the area. He used his arms as pillows, crossed under his head. His small framed glasses hung loosely from his mellow face.

Behind him a figure appeared, it walked slowly towards him. The figure was hidden in the darkness until the moon appeared from behind the clouds and doused the figure with soft moonlight.

The figure was revealed to be a beautiful woman. She had long black hair and a calm and confident look on her face. Her pale porcelain skin lit by the moonlight gave her a mysterious and alluring look. Dressed in a fine black dressed that actuated her goddess like body, she moved closer to the young man who was busy doing nothing.

Gracefully she kneeled down beside the man and looked up at the Sky he was staring at. She wore a soft smile on her red lips. She shifted her gaze from the twinkling diamonds to the peaceful face of the young man that made her smile even more radiant.

"Keitaro-san" She spoke softly surprising the Keitaro from his star gazing.

Even though anyone would have noticed someone had moved close to them, Keitaro was far too much enjoying the peace and quite. So when he heard the woman call his name he was surprised and faced her abruptly.

"WAH!" Keitaro yipped. She looked at the woman and recognized her and so calmed down.

"Tsuruko, don't do that I though you were a ghost, surprising me like that." Keitaro said placing his hand on his chest.

Tsuruko only giggled behind her hand and looked at the young man. She then stopped her giggling and looked at Keitaro with a small smile.

"What are you doing here alone Keitaro-san you should be with the others down there having a good time." Tsuruko said pointing down at the inn where lights were flashing and faint music blaring indicating a party going on.

Keitaro only flopped back down on the grassy earth and closed his eyes then sighed.

"I don't belong down there. I'm a nobody you know." Keitaro said nonchalantly.

Tsuruko frowned on the statement and looked at the young man disapprovingly.

"Don't say that about yourself. How could you say such a thing about yourself?" Tsuruko said disapproving about his reply.

"Oh come on Tsuruko-san, just who exactly am I? I'm a nobody just some average guy that runs an old inn where in dumb luck famous persons happens to be staying at." Keitaro replied.

"But Keitaro-san," Tsuruko was about to say something else but Keitaro cut her off.

"Tsuruko-san, you know I don't belong there with them, Motoko-san your sister is a famous Kendoka. Her friends are famous as her. Like Naru-san the pop star and genius student of Tokyo-U. Mutsumi-san the a young doctor, Kitsune-san the renowned model, Shinobu-chan the child prodigy in culinary arts, and of course Kaolla-chan the genius princess of the kingdom of Molmol. What face am I supposed to show there where famous high class people are present; I can't say I'm a Tokyo-U flunky and manager of a beat up Inn. " Keitaro said finishing off his rant.

Tsuruko felt sad hearing this. Her little sister had become quite a better person after staying at Hinata- sou and she believed that Keitaro was a big reason why her little sister had changed. Motoko had become more confident and is more expressive of her emotions more than ever.

Keitaro was happy to be with them before, until he discovered who they really were and he was being fooled all along. He wasn't mad at them for lying to him about their identity, he understood that their high profile would cause a ruckus and they wanted to have some peace and quite.

That's their reason for going to the Hinata inn. When they met him and he didn't know about them, they knew that they would be able to live peacefully, even just for a short time.

"I'm not mad at them… I'm mad at myself for getting too close to them. I don't know how to act around them anymore. Knowing that their all famous and everybody know s about them. I don't like people to think badly of them when they see a nobody like me tagging along." Keitaro said sadly.

"But Keitaro-san, they don't care about that. The girls want to be with you no matter who you are." Tsuruko said.

"I also want to be with them but I think its better not to be involved too much. It's just too much of a hassle, and with all the crazy paparazzo's lurking around it's not safe for their image. So let me just lay here peacefully until the party down there is over. You should get back there; you are also one of those famous people being honored at the party." Keitaro said with a smile.

"Miss Aoyama Tsuruko…" Keitaro stood and dusted his pants, the night breeze blew and Tsuruko shivered a bit from the cold. "Maybe you could give me a free ticket when one of your movies comes out, Ne" Keitaro said smiling a bit. He then pulled off his jacket and covered Tsuruko with it. "You might get sick if you stay out here in the cold." Then, Keitaro had started to walk towards the abandoned annex of the Hinata-Inn compound.

He walked casually in the direction of the rundown building with his hands in his pockets. Tsuruko stood up and looked at him walk away.

"Keitaro-san" She called out a bit miffed about him walking off like that. "Come back here." She yelled loudly. Their conversation wasn't over yet and she still needed to tell him much more.

Keitaro ignored her shout and only waved his hand at her and said "Get back to the Inn its cold outside." And he walked into the annex and closed the door. The old building looked liked it was going to collapse from the slightest breeze because of all the rotten wood and cob-webs.

Tsuruko was left there alone with Keitaro's jacket his scent present in it. Another breeze blew making her dress and the arms of the jacket sway.

Even with the jacket Tsuruko still felt cold.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer on first page.**

**Chapter two: The plan and the Raven Hair**

**Six months earlier**

The stage was set, lights speakers and security on post. Hundreds of people came just to see her perform. Young fans of the new pop star were excited to see the young idol they have made their role model. Their cheering and shouts for the show to start reached inside the dressing room of the said idol.

Naru Narusegawa, sat in front of the large mirror surrounded by small lights and in front of her were various make-up and beauty products. She was already dressed in her needed attire to perform. She was dressed in a purple dress that ends high above her knees with a big bow tied behind. Her hair was down framing her beautiful face.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She sighed while thinking how she can make Kentaro give her some vacation time. She loved being a pop star of course but she needed a break, it's been almost a year since she had a life outside her new career. It was always the same, talk shows, commercials, modeling, and interviews she needed a little break from it all.

And mostly of all being stalked all the time and pompous rich men persistently trying to court her, young and old, she knew they only wanted her body or the chance to become famous, was really getting on her nerves, if only it wouldn't hurt image she'd punched those guys till they kiss the moon.

These were the things that came with her life as a pop star after getting scouted by Sakata Kentaro, Naru's highschool classmate and present manager.

Kentaro discovered Naru at a small karaoke contest, he thought she had shot of being famous, and being a great guy as he was he got Naru a big break. Kentaro having an influential and powerful father got Naru into auditions without any hassle. Genuinely the recording companies were impressed with her voice, paired with her looks she was a sure shot in becoming the new rising star.

After a few weeks of auditioning, Kentaro, finally signed Naru with a famous and good recording company named Bell Industry. She was ecstatic with the idea of being a pop star then, thinking of all the famous people she would meet, the fans that would love her and the glorious shopping spree.

A few weeks of voice practice and acting workshop, Naru finally released her first album and it was well received by the people. Her image of pop star and studious student was a great marketing idea made by the one and only Kentaro. Her popularity sky rocketed in a few months, becoming the fastest rising star of the year. Selling two-hundred thousand at the first day and kept doubling every next day.

But to her dismay, even with all the popularity and glamour she was not happy. She was getting tired of the schedules and fans that want to rip her apart and put a chunk of her in a shelf. Slowly she was getting affected by the stress and pressure and sometimes wished that she can get a small break. But Kentaro told her what about the fans? The fans! What about her? She cared about her fans alright but what about her, won't they feel bad if she suddenly cracked from the pressure?

She remembered that there was a big concert that she was going to perform at in a few weeks. A small smile crept into her lips reflected by the large mirror infront of her.

The concert was perfect, that would be the perfect opportunity for her. After the and concert she was scheduled to go to the reception at the hotel, sign a few autographs and meet some lucky fans that won a chance to see her.

The event would be perfect to make her getaway, erm… vacation pass. Kentaro won't be looking for her in the crowd as he would be caught up in getting her more work. So slipping out the back won't be too hard.

Going about the plan again in her head and thinking that it would actually work, Naru smiled to herself and felt enlightened, she was going to have a little vacation next week.

A knock on her door shook her from her reverie of thought and the voice of the show manager called out.

"Naru-san, it's time we'll start in fifteen so get out here now." A woman's voice said muffled by the door.

"Alright!" Naru replied and stood up walking towards her door.

4515162156123162242

Needless to say the concert was a great success; the crowd cheered wildly and loved her performance. After the concert they took a ride to back to their hotel. In the black limousine Naru sat across Kentaro who was holding a bottle of champagne. He was dressed sharply; a black suit and red tie complemented his confident persona.

Kentaro was handsome, Naru admitted, many of her friends thought so too, but that was all. She was his star and he was her manager, it was all business between them, regardless of what the media says.

"That was a great performance Naru-chan," Kentaro said popping the cork of the beverage.

"Thanks." She replied tiredly looking trough the tinted windows of the limo.

"Something wrong?" the manager asked. He poured some of the bubbling crystal liquid on two glasses and handed one to Naru.

"Nothing just tired." She said dismissing Kentaro's worry. She wouldn't want him to find out about her plan for later now would she? Kentaro might not look like it but he's a cunning and sly man meaning he's very sharp in keeping an eye out for something that will benefit him or make trouble fro his career. He has made a lot of money from managing Naru and he won't be letting her go that easily just because she felt that she didn't want to go onstage for a while.

"Alright I guess you should skip the party tonight, you should get some rest. We wouldn't want your health be endangered." He said sipping from his glass looking up Naru.

"Thank you." Naru replied and leaned back on her seat looking out the window.

4165152316241

A young man with thick rectangular glasses was cornered in an alley by a bunch of men in black suits. The young man had dark brown hair and was dressed in a red t shirt with a mocking bat logo on it (think of the devil bat mascot in eyeshield21) and denim pants.

The men surround the young man were all armed with bats that had nails sticking out, brass knuckles, and guns. They stood before the young man menacingly and edge to him slowly.

"Now Guys can't we talk about this like rational people." The young man said nervously looking at the group stalking towards him.

'Sorry Urashima-san. But you hurt our little oujou-sama by rejecting her feelings. WE cannot let that slide." One man with a beard and moustache said. His hair was slicked back with white streaks on the side of his head.

"Come on I'm sure she'd even be more upset if she found out I'm dead won't she?" Keitaro said trying to find a way out. He looked to his a dumpster and a wall, to his right, a door boarded up and a stack of large boxes, behind him was a wall also too high to climb. After surmising his surroundings Keitaro had come up with the conclusion that he won't be going anywhere but the hospital or the morgue. And judging from the looks the men were giving him the latter was likely where he would end up.

"Oh don't worry we won't kill you. Just make you learn a lesson not to make our mistress unhappy." Replied the man and took a step closer. Keitaro stepped back.

"Oh dear kami-sama please help me." Keitaro prayed as the men came closer and closer and he stepped farther back until his back was against the wall. Definitely not the way he wanted to spend his Tuesdays.

"RAHHHH!!" the man yelled lunging at Keitaro.

"WAHHHHH!" Keitaro reacted.

When the others were about to pounce on him too a blur of red and white passed by behind the group. In split second the men then dropped down unconscious.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH?" Keitaro was still screaming and stopped when he didn't felt any pain. He opened his eyes and saw that the men were down and a woman was looking down on them.

The woman before her had her back turned on him and wore a white gi and red hakama, she was holding a wooden sword apparently what she used to incapacitate the men. Keitaro looked at the woman then at the men who gave him a rough time earlier and then back at the woman. He was quite nervous to speak but did so even.

"Uh, thank you, miss…" Keitaro trailed off when the girl turned around to reveal a very beautiful face. Her smooth white skin and luscious red lips also the captivating olivine eyes made Keitaro stare at her.

The woman was beautiful in all aspects; very tall for an average Japanese woman; she possesses this air of authority and discipline. She moved towards Keitaro with grace that Keitaro thought he was already dead and it was actually an angel he was seeing in front of him.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a somewhat cold voice. Keitaro shot out of his trance and answered.

"Ah yes I'm alright, thank you very much for helping me." Keitaro bowed.

"Hmp…" The woman then turned around and exited the alley leaving a very confused Keitaro.

"Did I say something wrong?" Keitaro asked himself and remembered he needs to get away from the place before anybody spots him with a dozen unconscious men.

5556532552

After distancing himself from the men in black Keitaro walked around town. He decided to pick up some stuff at the store and then visit his favorite beef bowl shop. After eating a bout three extra large bowls of his favorite dish he thanked the owner and paid for his meal. He exited the shop with a full belly and the new vigor.

Thinking that he had wasted enough time from running away from the goons earlier and after eating for half an hour, he thought he should be going to work now. So hurrying a few blocks down the road he managed to reach his work place just a few minutes late.

Keitaro has been working in a small coffee shop for a half a year now. Even though grandma Hina left Keitaro the ownership and a large sum of money before she set out to America. Keitaro still had some financial problem.

The reason was the inn didn't have any visitors for years and he didn't felt right using the money he didn't earn. So he decided to find a part time job to earn some income. To Keitaro's luck he found an opening position of a waiter in a small coffee shop.

The owner gave him a simple test before he was hired. Keitaro was to serve at least ten people and would have to be satisfied with the service he would be providing. And to the owners surprise all Keitaro's customers were happy with him.

The coffee shop sells cakes with their coffee or whatever beverage they desired. Using Keitaro's knowledge of pastries and of the taste of coffee and tea thought to him by his parents and Aunt respectively. So with the knowledge of the degree of sweetness and bitterness of the drinks Keitaro recommended perfect combinations of drinks and sweets that earned him good feedback, earning him the job.

So here he was now in front of the shop. He went inside the alley way to get inside from the back door. He entered the shop and went to his locker. Keitaro changed into a waiter uniform of a white shirt and red vest. He tied a green apron to his waist and went into the shop to start working.

Entering the front of the shop he saw that there was already a few customers present and the owner was busy taking their orders. The owner then saw Keitaro and shot him a glare for being late.

Keitaro only rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. He then started to assist the owner by entertaining the other customers. Keitaro took the customers orders and served them.

A few hours passed until all the customers have finished and left. After all of the customers have left and paid for their meal Keitaro got a good scolding from his employer for being late.

"So what is it this time?" The owner asked Keitaro while drying a glass. He was an old English man. He has short gray hair and a moustache quite thin but still well built for his old age. He was dressed in a black version of Keitaro's waiter uniform only better looking.

"What was that Bill?" Keitaro replied. Keitaro didn't use any honorifics when talking to Bill. Bill thought that it was too troublesome and made his name sound wrong. So he told Keitaro to address him with no honorific. It was awkward for Keitaro at first using no honorific to address someone. In Japan it was a sign that the person is intimate or disrespectful. In due course in time he got the hang of it.

"I said what's your excuse for being late this time?" The Bill repeated. "Is it that girl again?" Keitaro nodded and continued mopping the floor. Bill gave out a hearty laugh at Keitaro's expense.

"Come on boss it's already bad enough I got chased around the place." Keitaro whined.

"Hahah…sorry Keitaro, but I told you shouldn't have turned her down like that." Bill said laughing at the expense of his employee.

"Yeah,yeah. Sheesh, how should I know that little girl had that kind of connections?" Keitaro sighed.

"Just goes to show you just have a different kind of luck with women." Bill said.

"Yeah, luck I don't need." Keitaro replied and finished up cleaning the floor. Keitaro put away the cleaning materials and joined bill at the counter for a cup of coffee while waiting for some customers. They talked about how Keitaro was chased around the city. He was chased through buildings, over fences, through traffic and crowds. Keitaro also mentioned the woman who saved her and didn't left out the detail of how good looking she was.

"Busy morning and the girls you say seem to be quite a beauty from what you told me." Bill said taking a sip from his cup of coffee.

"Heh she really was beautiful, I thanked her for saving me but she just turned around and walked way. I didn't know if I offended her or something." Keitaro said and took a sip from his own cup.

"Don't worry Keitaro with your luck with women I'm sure you won't want to meet one that can kill you in a flash." Bill joked.

"Yeah, you're right." Keitaro replied laughing.

While the two men talked the front doors bell rang and indicating that a customer just entered. Keitaro gulped down the content of his cup and faced the customer. Surprised was an understatement in his condition now when he saw the girl that saved him earlier. She walked into the shop and sat at a table near the shop window.

The woman carried a large bag with her that Keitaro didn't saw last time and the wooden sword that she used to assist Keitaro was strap to the bag. She wasn't wearing the training attire she had earlier and was now dressed in a white t shirt and denim pants.

Keitaro walked towards her to ask her order. The woman read through the menu place on the table, Keitaro was already beside her table waiting for her to order. The woman finished browsing the menu and put it down. She looked at Keitaro and didn't even give a sign of recognition.

"One green tea and one vanilla cake please." She said and looked out the window.

"Sure, just a sec." Keitaro replied feeling a bit awkward she didn't recognize him. But he didn't trouble himself too much with the thought and proceeded to deliver her order. After a few minutes Keitaro came back with a cup of green tea and a piece of vanilla. He served the items and asked if she wanted anything else. The girl only thanked him and said she didn't need anything else.

There were still not much customers, heck the girl was the only one in the store along with Keitaro sitting at the bar table across. Bill was at the back making an inventory. So Keitaro and the woman were the only ones there. Keitaro feeling awkward with the silence he tried to strike up a conversation with the woman.

"Um nice weather we're having" Keitaro asked hoping it would spark a conversation. But the woman only took a sip from her cup of tea ignoring him.

"Um…ahh I see you have a training sword with you. Do you practice kendo or something?" Keitaro said again trying. Finally the woman responded and looked at him.

"Is there something you need?" The woman said.

"No, I'm sorry to have bothered you miss. It's just that you look like the woman who saved me earlier. The resemblance is very striking." Keitaro said

"Hn, it was me that saved you." She replied returning her attention to her tea.

"What. Uhh… then… why did you act like you didn't know me then?" Keitaro asked dumbfounded.

"Because I _don't _know you, I only saved you but I do not know who you are." She replied a matter of factly.

"Oh…right." Keitaro replied deflated. "Well' my names Urashima Keitaro and I wish to thank you for helping me out earlier." Keitaro bowed thanking the woman.

"And you are, if you don't mind me asking."

The woman looked at him for a minute. She studied him seemingly gauging him if he was to be trusted. She took a sip from her cup and then replied in a business like tone.

"Aoyama Motoko."

"Ah Motoko-san, Hmmm… Seem like I heard that name before…" Keitaro thought out loud.

"I'm sure you have. It's a common name after all." The woman replied.

"Hmmm… yeah your right." Then door to the back opened revealing Bill holding a list.

"Hey Keitaro we'll need to order some more hazel nut scented coffee and a few boxes of tea." Bill said then saw Motoko. Bill remembered Keitaro's description f the woman earlier and she fit the bill.

"Hey miss you the girl that helped out my employee here?"

"Yes."

"Well I'll be… she really is a beauty Keitaro. I thought you were exaggerating your story about her. "The old man laughed. Motoko blushed a bit from the comment.

"So miss your going somewhere? You seem to have lot with you." Bill said pointing at Motoko's bag. Motoko finished her cup of tea first then replied.

"I recently transferred to a high school here and I was looking for a place to stay. I don't have much money and all the places here were not in my budget." She sighed.

Suddenly a metaphoric light bulb lit up above Bill's head. He looked at Keitaro with a grin and Keitaro flinched from it. Keitaro never liked it when employer smiled like that; somehow he gets in trouble when Bill smiled like that. The old man then returned his gaze at the woman and grinned.

"Hey miss how about this place I know about. It's really cheap. You'll only need to take a fifteen minute train ride to get there. It even has this natural hot springs. The place is far from people so you'll have privacy." The man said and then looks at Keitaro with a smile.

"What! Really!" Motoko said happily. From her reaction it was just the place she was looking for. She jumped from her seat and started to ask where it was and who she needs to speak with.

Bill only pointed a weak finger towards Keitaro after being shaken by the woman. Keitaro rubbed the back of his head and the trademark sheepish smile was on his face.

"What about him mister?" Motoko asked.

"He's the manager." The man said dropping down.

A/N:

Accepting creative criticism for improvement… flames is criticism right?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer on first page.**

**Chapter three: Dynamite girl…**

At a table Keitaro sat awkwardly in front of Motoko who was looking at him with an appraising look. Feeling of being scrutinized by a woman who you only just met a moment ago is sure uneasy.

Keitaro didn't really felt comfortable at his seat. Never did he like to be the attention of anyone. He never stood out much when he was young and he preferred it that way. Less people took notice of him less expectation he needed to reach.

After five minutes of gauging Keitaro the raven haired woman finally spoke.

"You don't look like much of a threat" Motoko stated closing her eyes.

"Ah…" Keitaro was offended but he let it slide because it was an opportunity to have some extra income. Having one tenant is better that having none. The inn was costing him even though no one was staying in it. The inn needed to be maintained in tip top shape if in any event a person shows up looking for a room to stay at.

"So how much does it cost to have a room?" Motoko asked opening her eyes revealing her captivating olivine eyes.

"You said you didn't have much, so tell me what price you can afford and I'll see if it's enough." Keitaro answered.

"I can pay for twenty five thousand a month." She replied. (I don't know the common expenses when living alone so go with me)

"Hmm…not much but I guess its okay. You will be provided with three square meals a day and free use of any utilities of the house." Keitaro said what she will be getting.

"So is the place far from here?' Motoko asked her gaze still fixed on Keitaro.

"Not much just a fifteen minute train ride from the station and a ten minute walk and we're there." Keitaro replied.

"I guess it's acceptable. May we go there now? I wish to rest, I have visited my new schools kendo club and I am a bit tired after testing their skils." She said.

"Uh… sure my shift's about to end anyway." Keitaro said. "_So that was why she was wearing the Keno Uniform." _He thought absently,

"Just go and take the young lady Keitaro. I can manage." Bill spoke up from behind the counter.

"Are you sure old man?" Keitaro said.

"Yeah I'm sure, and don't call me old man or I'll cut your pay." The old English man said.

"Well thanks anyway." Keitaro appreciated Bill's understanding that nodded and gave him a small smile. Keitaro then looked at his new tenant, he was really happy to have a tenant finally for so long. Keitaro always dreamt off raising the place to its former glory of being a great spot for vacationing.

"Aoyama-san, please wait for me while I change and I'll show you the place." Keitaro said standing up from his seat and went towards the back room.

58423156162151

After ten minutes Keitaro have changed back to his clothes which comprised of a red t shirt with a smirking red bat and denim pants. He came out the back room and walked to Motoko's table.

"So Aoyama-san shall we go. I'll help you with some of your bags." Keitaro said picking up one of the larger bags of Motoko.

"Thank you."

"See you tomorrow Bill!" Keitaro said over his shoulder.

"Just don't be late again." The old man replied.

The pair exited the shop and was greeted by the cold winds. It was already dusk and the sun was setting over the horizon. Keitaro led the way towards the train station while trying to make some small talk. Unfortunately Motoko was not much of a talker and Keitaro felt like an idiot for trying.

Aboard the train the two sat beside each other. Motoko looked out the window with a far away look on her face Keitaro noticed this and couldn't help but stare at the woman. She was really beautiful with the deep in thought look on her face, he thought it was…cute.

Motoko then notice Keitaro was looking at her and shifted her gaze to him. Her facial expression changed to a serious one.

"Is something the matter Urashima-san?" Motoko asked in a somewhat chilling tone. Keitaro immediately stopped ogling the woman and blushed. He quickly turned to face away from the woman and stuttered a reply.

"No, nothing is the matter." Keitaro managed to reply.

"Hn." Was her only reply and she looked back at the window.

Keitaro on the other hand was trying to cool his face from all the blood that rushed to his cheeks. To his dismay he was blushing like a school girl and that was not something a guy would feel good about.

"_The hell, what am I doing. I shouldn't do anything to scare her away. I really need the_ _money now. Hope she doesn't think I'm a pervert for staring at her like that_." Keitaro thought as his face returned to its normal color.

"_That was really embarrassing_…" he sighed.

546545613621865132156

After the short train ride Keitaro and Motoko were now walking down the streets of Hinata. There were still a few stores open and people walking around.

A lot of people who recognized Keitaro greeted him with a friendly call or a wave. Motoko was a bit curious that Keitaro was quite well known by people. She then turned to Keitaro and tried to find out why.

"Urashima-san you're quite a well known person here." Motoko said. Keitaro just smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well when my grandmother gave me the Inn, there weren't many guests anymore or more like there were none. So I needed to have some kind of income to keep the place running and to keep myself alive."

"I took up some jobs around town. Working here and there but just for a few months, also my grandmother was quite known around here." Keitaro finished.

"I see…"

After a few minutes of walking they finally reached their intended destination or at least the stairs leading to the inn. Motoko noticed a small building that was boarded up near the stairs. There was a hanging sign there with the name of the place.

**Hinata Tea Shop.** The sign read with a few web and looked quite worn out.

"Urashima-san, do you know who owns that building there?' Motoko asked pointing at the old dark building.

"That? That's my aunt's tea shop. She closed it down when she went with my grandmother to America." Keitaro replied. "Not much customers were coming there and so she decided to close it down"

"I see…"

"Well let's get going so that I could show you the place." Keitaro said walking to the long stone steps leading up the hill. Motoko followed the young manager up wondering what the building might look like.

86946894615645

Up the hill a bit winded even with her training, Motoko took a breather reaching the top of the stairs. Keitaro beside the young raven haired woman had a bead of sweat on his face but not as breathless as she was.

"Well we're here. It's not much but I'm sure you will love staying here." Keitaro said indicating the building in front of them.

Motoko looked to her front lifting her head. She had a surprised look on her face when she saw the inn. She assumed that the place would be all rotten and dirty considering a guy was taking care of the place. But it was not complete opposite.

The inn's old design and beauty was preserved through the ages and not sign of rotting on the woods or litter around the yard. Keitaro then motioned for them to go inside. Lifting Motoko's baggage he walked up to the front door and opened the lock and slid the door open.

They stepped in the dark lobby. Keitaro shuffled in the dark and to a corner where the light switch was. Flipping the switch open, the room lit up instantly. Again surprising Motoko the place was in tip-top shape. Clean floors, no dust on the furniture, everything in neat and organized condition.

"Come on up with, I'll show you the rooms and you can choose which one you like. We can leave your things here at the living room. I'll take it up once you chosen which one you'll stay in." Keitaro said already walking towards the stairs.

Motoko nodded in reply and followed the young manager up the stairs. Noting that the place was really in good shape considering Keitaro he was the only one taking care of the place. She thought that because a man was managing the place it would be in shambles and only agreed to stay there was she didn't wasn't to spend a night out in the cold.

After seeing the rooms they were at the last one on that floor and was about three rooms away from Keitaro's. Keitaro offered to show her the other rooms above but the kendo woman declined.

"This room will be sufficient manager-san." Motoko said looking at the room. There was an empty shelf to the right wall. A low table in the middle and two cushion seats. The balcony of the room over viewing the beautiful forest at the back of the inn where she saw a waterfall flowing.

"Okay I'll bring your stuff up here right away." Keitaro said dashing off to retrieve Motoko's luggage. Before she could offer her help Keitaro was already down the stairs. She just sighed and looked around her new room. She took a seat at the low table finding the cushion quite comfortable.

"I hope I will be able to achieve my goal here. Sister, why did you turn your back on our tradition? The elders are hounding me to take up the position as the heir. But I still do not fell I'm worthy enough." Motoko thought to herself thinking of her reason for coming there.

She was shaken out of her reverie when she heard a loud thud. She rushed out her room and saw Keitaro lying on the floor with the bags scattered. From the looks of it Keitaro tried to lift all of the baggage even though the big luggage should have been rolled in. So he lost balance and fell to the floor.

"Ah...Sorry about that Aoyama-san I hope there weren't anything fragile in these bags." Keitaro said sitting up scratching the back of his head.

"Fortunately manager-san there weren't, if there were I would have been very displeased." Motoko said sending Keitaro a look that said 'be careful when handling others stuff.' The young manager gulped and arranged the bags.

'I'm sorry…' He apologized again standing up from the floor.

"I'll leave you to unpack your things I'll be at the manager's room, three rooms from here, if you need me." Keitaro said moving out the room.

"Thank you manager-san."

85642151321651321

Inside the manager's room Keitaro laid on the floor. He stared at the ceiling of his room where a small hole was.

"I should fix that soon.' He noted to himself.

"There might be more guests that will come." He said hopeful.

The manager's room was obviously bigger than the others almost the size of two. There was a shelf full off old books, a low tabled at the center of the room and normal one at the far corner of room. Various poster and junk littered the room's floor. Keitaro always took care of the other rooms but didn't took much care of his own saying that it would only get messy again because he was there. His balcony overviewed the town below, which he liked to look at at night.

He glanced at a clock on his wall and it was about seven. He thought of cooking something for diner but remembered something really important. There wasn't anything on the fridge. He didn't have to cook for anyone and he enjoyed eating out; Keitaro haven't bought grocery for a while.

"Great what should I tell Aoyama-san. She might be hungry now and as manager I should take care of her." He sighed to himself. He stood up from the floor and paced around the room.

"Oh well might as well make a fool of myself. I'll just have to take her out for a meal then and go out for groceries tomorrow." He said to himself going out of his room.

Walking towards Motoko's room he stood in front of it preparing himself for embarrassment. He knew he should have bought some food earlier. Taking a long breath he steeled himself and rap on the door. A voiced asked from the inside.

"What is it?'

"Aoyama-san I have something to tell you may I come in." Keitaro asked before opening the door.

"Please enter." Motoko replied a shuffling noise followed. Keitaro took the invitation and opened the door. He saw Motoko sitting at the low table now dressed in a white top and cargo short.

"What do you need manager-san?' Motoko asked.

"Well uhm sorry to barge in… I see you've unpacked…" Motoko said looking around.

"Yes… what do you need? I'm sure that is not the reason you wanted to talk to me." She asked.

"oh…yeah sorry, I just wanted to ask you if you would prefer to eat out for tonight. I haven't had anything in the fridge. I'm sure you're hungry and I said you'll get three square meals a day just that I don't anything to work with today. So I'm sorry, but maybe I can just take you out somewhere." Keitaro rambled. Before Keitaro could continue on with his nonessential rambling. Motoko spoke up.

"Manager-san, I accept you haven't had any guests here so I understand if you are unprepared. It was an abrupt event that I became a tenant here." Motoko replied.

"Thanks for understanding." Keitaro said rubbing the back of his head.

"I'll meet you down in ten minutes." Motoko said and Keitaro replied with a nod.

54231261231231561

Down at the lobby Keitaro was waiting for Motoko. He changed his t shirt to a gray with stripes and top over with a blue hooded jacket. He sat at the couch staring at the television about news of some pop star went missing after finishing her concert.

Keitaro then heard footstep from the stairs and looked over to see Motoko and he almost dropped from the couch when he saw her. She was wearing a leather jacket on top of her white tank top and tight jeans that hugged her legs perfectly. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail with a red ribbon.

"Manager-san shall we go?" She asked looking at Keitaro who was relieved that she didn't saw his red flushed face.

"UH… yeah sure yes, let's go. ." Keitaro stuttered a reply.

542156123156132132

At the streets of Hinata Naru Narusegawa walked around the open food shops. She wore a maroon jacket and slacks and her hair was hidden under a blue ball cap. She was debating with herself if she would eat a double cheese burger or a good hot bowl of ramen. With a cool blow of wind she instantly chose the ramen to warm her up.

She walked in the shop taking a seat at the counter and looked at the menu.

"What will the young lady like?" The man at the counter turned around to face her. He had short hair and his looks like of a fox.

'I'll have miso ramen please and a tall glass of ice tea." She ordered happily.

"Alright coming right up. " The man said and started to make her order. Waiting for her meal two more people walked in. The store owner took a glanced that came in and greeted them.

"Hey Keitaro-kun good to see…" the man then spotted the woman beside him. "Keitaro-kun I never knew you had a girl friend." The man grinned.

"Sorry Tetsu-san but you're mistaken. This lady here is a tenant of mine. I didn't have anything to cook and I thought of taking her out for something to eat." Keitaro explained who took a seat next to Naru. Naru who was a bit interested in the conversation just listened in her head resting on her right hand.

"Awww…and I thought you finally had someone. Oh well so you the usual right. One beef ramen and for the lady…" The man said turning around.

"Aoyama-san what would you like?" Keitaro asked the raven haired woman.

"Chicken please." She answered. (I have no idea of what flavors ramen have)

"Coming right up" Tetsu replied.

"Sorry about that Aoyama-san, Tetsu's close friend of mine and he always bothers me like that. I hope he didn't offend you." Keitaro asked a bit worried.

"It's alright." Motoko replied taking the seat beside him.

Naru at Keitaro's left side glance at him. She remembered him saying the woman with him was a tenant. That means he owns a place, and because she didn't planned on where she was staying while laying low Naru thought of asking Keitaro if there were any room vacant.

Before Naru could asked Tetsu placed her order in front of her and the aroma of the food quickly took her attention away. She took a pair of wooden chopsticks and broke it apart, gave thanks for her meal and started eating.

Soon Keitaro and Motoko's order came and so they also ate. While the three ate peacefully three men came in the shop. Three gruff mean looking mean, One big wearing a black leather jacket walked over to the counter and shouted out his order.

"Three big bowls of Beef and make it snappy." The man said. The man then noticed Naru who was eating oblivious to her surrounding. Quite unlike her really but the food she was eating was really good.

Then the big man made a move, he leaned on the counter to the left of Naru to have a good look of her face. Liking what he saw he moved in for the kill.

"Hey there babe you doing something tonight?" he asked in a suave – ish tone he could do. Even though he looked like King Kong and Kong looked better, He was really confident with himself. His two companions' one tall and thin took a seat a table next to the glass pane and the other one about the same size as Keitaro sat opposite his friend.

Naru looked at the man and blinked once, then twice. She chewed the noodles in her mouth and gulped it down. She then lifted the bowl up to her lips and gulped down the soup. She gave out a loud satisfied sigh and then faced the man again.

"Beat it ugly before I waste that good meal puking by seeing you face" She said with a sickening sweet smile. The man didn't handle his rejection too well. His faced reddened with anger and stood up.

"Why you… what did you say!" The man said angrily grabbing Naru by her arm and forced her to look at him. "Say that again you little…" He said angrily.

"Not only ugly but deaf and stupid too, you sure are a lousy piece work." Naru said haughtily.

"That's it I'll teach you to mess with me…" Kong yanked Naru's arm making her yelp in pain.

Keitaro was getting uncomfortable and worried for the woman. Motoko was holding her self back from shoving her chopstick into the man's nostrils.

"Get your paws of me!" Naru yelled.

"Please sir I don't want any trouble in here." Tetsu tried to defuse the situation.

"Keep quiet! I'll teach this woman not to badmouth me." The big man raised his right hand up ready to hit Naru. But before the man could swing he yelped out in a high pitched tone not appropriate for a man.

Keitaro whipped his head to see that the woman beside him just kicked the big man between the legs. Yup… she just kicked Kong junior. Ouch!

Keitaro cringed when he saw what the ball cap wearing woman did. Also having the same appendage as Kong, Keitaro could imagine the pain of being hit there.

The two companions of Kong stood up and lunged at Naru. The tall one tried to back hand her but an unknown arm caught the offending hand. Naru looked at who just saved her and saw Keitaro holding the tall guy's arm.

He had a nervous smile on his face; the tall man jerked his hand from Keitaro and glared at him.

"Come on guys let's stop this. My friend doesn't want trouble in his shop." Keitaro said.

"Why you shrimp, I'll teach you to interfere." The tall man yelled out and lunged at Keitaro.

"Wahhh! Wait!" Keitaro raised his arms for protection. Then he saw a blur of black hair passed by him and the man was then sent back flying. Keitaro blinked and then finally realized that Motoko has once again saved him. The raven haired mistress narrowed her eyes dangerously at the three men.

"I suggest you three leave before I do permanent damage on you." She warned them, Kong who just recovered from the assault on his manhood stood up with a slight squeaky voice.

"Like hell we will!" He screamed in a tiny voice that was funnier than threatening. Then he lunged at Motoko his right hand ready to hit her. But with one swift movement Motoko side-stepped, grabbed Kong's offending arm and flipped him over. The big man lay on the floor with his eyes in a swirl. But to finish it off Motoko reminded him the pain of being kicked at the groin. His eyes bulged out from his eye sockets from the pain.

Keitaro winced when Motoko introduced her foot to the guy's crotch, along with the other male customers and Tetsu. The other two paled at what they saw Motoko do to their big comrade. Realizing that they should just leave the nice people alone, they hefted their big buddy up and ran out the shop kicking dust into the air.

Motoko just patted her hands together and strode back to her seat and resumed eating like nothing happened. Keitaro just looked amazed at how good Motoko handled the situation. As everybody else who saw the commotion. Keitaro then shifted his attention to the other woman who was being harassed earlier.

"Ah… miss are you alright?" Keitaro asked genuinely worried for the woman.

"Ah yes I'm alright. Thanks for helping me out." Naru replied.

"AH don't worry about it and Aoyama-san did most of the helping anyways." Keitaro said rubbing the back if his head. "Sorry for troubling you again Aoyama-san." Keitaro apologized.

"No matter, I despise people that behave like those three pigs." Motoko said in a cool tone and finished eating her noodles. The raven haired kendoist gave thanked Tetsu for the meal.

"Ah…hey mister you said she was your tenant right?" Naru asked Keitaro who faced her.

"Ah yeah."

"Do you have any more spare rooms? I need a place and I don't know where to look." Naru asked.

"Ah yeah actually Aoyama-san's the only tenant. There are still a lot of rooms left. "

"Great! I'll take one, where's the place anyway?" Naru beamed.

"Just nearby, the place is called Hinata inn." Keitaro said.

"Thank goodness I was really freaking out on where should I stay fro the night. I didn't really planned out this far ahead." Naru said sheepishly.

"Oh where is your baggage anyway I'll help you carry them." Keitaro said looking around for the any large bags or suit case. Naru froze for a moment and processed the statement Keitaro had made and she ahd just realized one important thing…she forgot to bring clothes.

Now this shouldn't be a problem as she does have money in the back and has her credit card with her, but she can't use it or else Kentaro will be able to trace her whereabouts. So now she's in a little predicament of not having any other clothing than the one she has on.

"Ah…miss you okay?" Keitaro looked at her worriedly as she was spacing out a bit. Naru snapped back to reality and saw that the guy was getting close to her and instantly her arm shot out hitting Keitaro straight in the face.

"WAh! I'm sorry!" Naru apologized quickly kneeling down besides Keitaro who had fallen on his butt. He rubbed his nose to see if it was broken, feeling that it was still intact albeit hurting, he apologized to Naru for startling her.

"Sorry for scaring you like that." Keitaro said scratching the back of his head.

'No, it was my fault, I hope you're alright."

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry. So Miss, where's your bag?"

"I-I was robbed before I got here." She said quickly before thinking.

"Really? That's terrible!"

"Yes, all that's left with me is a few bills and the clothes I'm wearing." She said emphasizing her point by stretching her clothes. "So it's really great that you'd be willing to give me room. That is if you would let me pay you later when I manage to get a job or something."

"Of course I'll let you have a room. I can't really stand to leave you out in the cold." Keitaro said but was actually a bit disappointed that he won't be getting some extra cash till later. "_Oh well guess a new cell phone can wait." _Keitaro thought.

"Thank you so much, oh and by the way please call me Naru." She said stretching her arm. Keitaro took her hand and noted it was really soft. "Then call me Keitaro.

"Another thing you won't be asking me any 'alternative' ways of paying for my rent will you?" Naru said seriously. Keitaro looked at her for a moment not catching what she meant and slowly his brain processed what she said and quickly his face became redder than a tomato.

"N-NO way! I would never do that!" He said protesting. The people that knew Keitaro laughed at that and one yelled out at the far back.

"Yeah right! You've been alone up there for a while now Kei and you've got two gorgeous girls with you we won't be surprised to see their bellies swelling by the end of the month!

"Hey!" People laughed harder. Keitaro was now finding it difficult to look at his tenants from the comment of that random guy. He then heard Naru giggling and he saw that she was trying hard to cover up her laughter.

"Don't worry I was just teasing you kanririn-san." She said giggling. She then straitened up.

"Please take good care of me…" She said bowing and then looked up and gave him a wink.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer on the first page.

**Cherry Blossom Dream**

**Chapter 4: Cooking with cuteness.**

Keitaro stirred in his sleep. He had picked a corner to sleep in and was leaning on the dusty rotting wall of the old building. He remembered going in there after having a talk with Tsuruko. He didn't like walking off like that, but he knew she wouldn't stop asking to go down to the house if he didn't get away soon.

He stirred again and felt something out of place. Keitaro distinctly remembered that when he went there last night he was freezing cold. Going to the annex in the middle of the night without an extra lining of clothes was just stupid. He was sure he would be waking up very cold and shivering in the morning, so why wasn't he. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was covered by a blanket and a tray of food next to him.

Keitaro spotted a note on the tray and started to read.

_BAKA!_

Keitaro's lips tugged into a small smile when he read that word. He already knew who wrote the letter just from that one word alone.

_What were you thinking leaving us to fend for ourselves last night? Kentaro kept bugging me to go back and start performing again. Even though I told him I'm still in vacation. Anyway, I will seriously punch some sense into you when you get back. Shinobu was very worried looking for you! Good thing Tsuruko came and told us where you were. I bet you would have frozen your butt off if we didn't come to see you. Seriously you should take care of yourself. _

_Also I'm sorry if we hid our true identities. It's just that we thought you'd treat us differently if you knew who we were especially Kaolla. Seriously the girl was a princess! I just thought she was a genius. _

_So anyway please forgive us._

_Naru_

Keitaro sighed and lowered the note. He looked at the food on the tray and it was still quite warm when he reached out and touched it. There was a beef bowl and some miso soup, a pitcher of water and an empty glass was next to the tray. He remembered Shinobu actually asked him to teach her how to cook the dish. Thinking about it he laughed to himself, a culinary genius asking him to teach her how to cook was ironic.

He took off the thin plastic covering of the food and took a whiff of it. Quickly his stomach grumbled asking him to eat the tasty meal. He would thank dear Shinobu later for the meal.

Quickly he wolfed down his meal; he was very hungry after missing dinner last night to evade the reporters that swarmed the place. He doesn't know how all those people found out about the inn and the girls staying there. Keitaro had a pretty good guess that Kentaro was behind it. He did had the money to hire people to look for Naru so it was most probably him that found the place. Too bad he couldn't keep his mouth shut and had to tell every-freaking-one when he found out that Naru wasn't the only celebrity staying there.

It was only a matter of time when a grand party started. Catering and event designers swarmed the inn and made it look pretty. Then all those high class rich folks that Keitaro didn't felt right mingling with came pouring in.

Keitaro sighed with that big party he was sure to have a big mess to clean up after. He did try to look on the good side. The inn had some publicity maybe guest will come pouring in now.

**Hinata Inn where Stars go on vacation.**He thought and smiled.

Finishing his meal Keitaro picked up the dishes and stacked them neatly on the tray. He folded the blanket and gathered up the dirty dishes back to the Inn. He looked at himself and noticed that he needed to clean himself up, the dust of the old building had clung to him his cheeks had a bit of dirt on.

5123158321561321651

Shinobu tiredly cleaned up the kitchen and had started to make breakfast. She didn't much time to rest last night considering the guest left a little past one o'clock in the morning. He eye was really tired but she willed herself to wake up early and make breakfast for everyone. It was only thing she could do for her new little family and she didn't feel right not cooking breakfast anyway.

While Shinobu busily prepared the meals someone entered the kitchen and she looked to see who it was. She saw Keitaro holding folded blanket and the dishes they left him a while ago. Keitaro stopped for a moment looking at the blue haired girl and smiled.

"Good morning." He said walking up to the sink and placed the dirty dishes.

"Thank you for breakfast it was delicious as always." He said facing the young chef who was a bit flushed.

"Y-your welcome, Keitaro-san." She replied while frying some eggs.

The two became silent, Keitaro had started to wash the dishes and Shinobu continued cooking. The young chef kept glancing at the older man feeling awkward with him for hiding her identity. When Keitaro had finished washing the dishes he grabbed a towel and started drying his hands he had noticed Shinobu's glances and he thinks he knew what was wrong.

"Is there something bothering you Shinobu-chan?" Keitaro asked. Shinobu almost flipped the egg up into the ceiling when Keitaro stood beside her suddenly.

"N-Nothing…" She said a furious blush on her face.

"Need any help?" Keitaro asked grabbing the spatula from her hand and the pan with the other, then started tending to the eggs.

"You don't have to help me Keitaro-san." Shinobu insisted trying to get the spatula back.

"You don't like my cooking?" He asked putting on a hurt look. Shinobu then furiously shook her head. "NO! I like your cooking it's just that…" She trailed off and looked down.

"You're not angry at us …Keitaro-san?" She asked a bit shaky fearing that he may actually say yes that he was mad at them for hiding their identity. A moment passed and he didn't answer, Shinobu looked up nervously at him and saw him smiling at her, the cooked eggs in his left hand.

"I'm not angry at you Shinobu-chan. I'm not angry at anybody, you had your reasons and I will respect that so don't worry about it." He replied the warm smile on his face not vanishing. Shinobu teared up a little.

Keitaro then was taken back by this and started to panic. "Waahhh…Shinobu-chan! I said it was alright so don't cry please… I…" Keitaro stopped when Shinobu started laughing with a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Thank you…Keitaro –san…" She said smiling at him. Seeing that she was actually alright Keitaro let out a sigh and placed the fried eggs on a plate.

"Alright I'll leave the cooking to you and I'll set up the table, alright." Keitaro placed the pan back on the stove and handed the spatula to Shinobu. Shinobu nodded and went back to fixing breakfast while Keitaro set the table.

5435845618165191651591

A month had passed by when Motoko and Naru started to live in the HInata-Inn. Motoko usually spends most of her time practicing up at the roof deck when not studying and going to school. Keitaro who would usually go up the roof to hang some clothes sometimes startles her while training and would get blasted away by a strange technique she uses that sends a massive burst of wind at the targets direction.

Naru having no money and clothes was helped out by Motoko. The sword mistress had given the incognito pop star half her wardrobe saying she doesn't really wear all those clothes, Motoko always did prefer to wear her training outfit than ordinary clothes. NAru appreciated the help and thanked Motoko, although the pants were a bit too long for Naru, she didn't mind because now she had something else to wear didn't she.

About the money problem Keitaro had found her a job. When Naru went to Keitaro's workplace, Heaven Nine, to pick him up so that the two can go job hunting there were a lot of customers and the two had their hands full. Naru decided to help out and started taking orders and entertain some customers as best as she could. After an hour the placed cleared up and Bill and Keitaro thanked Naru for the help. Keitaro introduced Naru to Bill and told him the pop stars predicament.

With a sly smile that Keitaro seem to fear, Bill, offered Naru a job as a waitress with a sizeable wage. The run away pop star had gladly accepted the offer and Keitaro thanked his employer.

With Naru's problem solved the weeks had passed by and it had already been a month since then.

5455425156156651321

Just coming back home, Keitaro made a mad dash straight for the kitchen when he smelled something burning and black smoke coming from the area. Entering the kitchen he quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher at the corner and smothered the stove with the white foamy stuff in the extinguisher. He looked around and saw Naru coughing along with Motoko. The two was covered with various condiments and spices, It looked like the two was trying to cook or had a just fought a war in the kitchen.

"What happened?" Keitaro asked looking at the two.

"We tried to cook dinner." Naru said shyly looking away. Motoko tried to look dignified even with her messy appearance.

"Manager-san, with you coming late sometimes the two of us wanted to make our own food." Motoko said.

"Oh… I'm sorry about that but I can't just quite my job at Bill's besides I need the extra income for the maintenance and all." Keitaro said apologetically rubbing his head.

"Yes we know that… What Motoko-chan meant was that we can't always wait for you just to have our meal right. So we thought maybe we could make dinner ourselves, guess it isn't as easy as you make it look." Naru said while blushing, a small stain of curry powder on her cheek.

"Yes well, I needed to learn how to cook if I didn't want to eat instant ramen for the rest of my life." He then looked at the stove covered with the white foamy substance from the extinguisher and sighed. He'll need to clean that up later after ordering or going out to eat.

"Say what were you making anyway?" Keitaro asked the two.

"Curry." Naru replied.

"Oh. Well I don't think I can cook anything here until I get this mess cleaned up so what do you want to do, order take-out or go out to eat?" Keitaro asked his tenants.

"I think going out would be nice." Naru replied. Motoko nodded in agreement.

"Alright, get yourselves cleaned up and I'll meet you in the living room." The two young girls then went out the kitchen and up the stairs. While out of ear shot Naru whispered something to Motoko.

"Should we tell him that we only got to boiling water before it went up in smokes?" Naru asked the raven haired woman.

"I don't think we should or Urashima-san might ban us from getting near anything flammable." Motoko answered.

"Your right…"

Keitaro started to clean up the charred white covered stove and took a look into the pot and saw nothing but the black bottom of pot. He scratched his head in confusion.

"They said they were cooking curry right?" He asked himself looking blankly at the empty black pot.

54561561561251564231251

After the fire fiasco Keitaro had started to cook their meals earlier and stored it in the fridge so that the girls can just heat it up when they get hungry. Even though it wasn't as good as freshly prepared food having something to eat was better than having the apartment burn down.

Currently Keitaro was sitting by the counter obviously bored. Bill was on a table reading the newspaper a cup of coffee near him. The break time was still about an hour later before customers come. So currently Keitaro had nothing to do and sat there with his head on his right hand gazing into nothing.

Naru was out, Bill gave her some time off and she went to a movie or something, they didn't know.

"Hey Bill can I have the crossword section when you're finish?" Keitaro asked.

"Sorry kid, answered it already." The American said flipping page. The man had started living in Japan eight years ago. His wife was Japanese but quickly died due to cancer after ten years of marriage. He has a daughter currently living back in America with a good job and fine life. Bill thought of living where his beloved wife had lived that she would always tell him good things about. Already forty-seven his hair had gray streak on the side but with his square chin, high cheek bones and light blue eyes he could always charm a lady.

"Awww… man I'm bored." Keitaro said.

"Alright already, quit your whining take a break. Just get back here in half an hour Alright."

"Alright!"

When Keitaro was about to go back to the locker room to change, the front door opened with a ring and Keitaro turned around to greet the customer.

"_So much for my break." _Keitaro sighed with a shrug; he faced the customer, a young girl with blue hair stood in front of him. Keitaro smiled and greeted the customer.

"Hello there, what can I get you?" He asked. The girl slowly slid up on the stool and ordered.

"I'd like a strawberry cake and warm cocoa please." She looked quite tired as she said her order. She kept looking down and kept sighing which Keitaro couldn't help but notice.

After getting the girls order Keitaro had placed the sweets in front of the bluenette. She started eating but was still looked so tired and still kept sighing. Keitaro just couldn't help but comment on the girl's behavior.

"Now, now… Is the food that bad that you keep sighing miss?" Keitaro said making Shinobu look up.

"N-no, t-the food is fine…I just have something in my mind…" She said the last part almost a whisper. Keitaro looked at the girl worriedly; the young man then glanced at Bill who just looked him with his brow raised and shrugged.

"Mind if you tell me…" Keitaro asked.

"A-anou…" She blushed and stared at her half eaten cake.

"Well?" Keitaro asked again with a smile. Shinobu looked up at him and felt that she could at least tell him what was troubling her.

"Well, I… Actually I just came back from Italy and I just ran away from home." Shinobu said and Keitaro was really surprised.

"Really? But why did you run away?" Keitaro asked.

"After getting back here in Japan my parents got into fight about a woman on the phone looking for my father. Mother got angry and started yelling at father and I guess I couldn't take it anymore." Shinobu said trying to hold back her tears. Keitaro patted Shinobu's head and tried to console her.

The front door then opened again with a ring of a bell and Naru walked in. Apparently the movie had ended and she decided to come to the shop even though it was her day off. She saw Keitaro consoling a young girl. She walked up to the two to see what was going on.

"Hey what's going on?" She asked.

"Oh hey Narusegawa-san why are you here? It's your day off isn't it?" Keitaro said looking at the secret pop star.

"The movie wasn't' that good as I thought and I didn't feel like going back to the apartments yet." She replied. "Anyway what's wrong with the little girl, she's crying. You didn't do anything to her did you?" She said looking at Keitaro accusingly.

"What NO! I didn't do anything to her!" Keitaro said defensively. The young man looked towards Bill for some help and the old man came to his rescue.

"Keitaro didn't do anything. He was just poking his nose into someone else business." Bill replied. Keitaro slapped his face; it would have been enough without the last remark.

"I thought so." Naru said looking all high and mighty correctly guessing Keitaro did something. Keitaro just sighed and conceded defeat.

"I'm sorry if he made you cry miss." Naru tried consoling the girl as she pat her back. The girl was sobbing softly and looked up at the auburn haired woman. Her blue eyes glistened with tears making her look so adorable that NAru couldn't help but hug her like a stuff animal.

"She's so cute!" Naru squealed, squeezing Shinobu who was startled by the woman's action.

"Ah, NArusegawa-san, I think you should let her breath now." Keitaro said noticing that Shinobu was feeling a bit uncomfortable being hugged by a stranger.

"Oh, sorry about that." Naru released Shinobu and scratched the back of her head for acting like that.

"I-it's okay." The blue haired girl replied.

"My name is Naru by the way and that insensitive guy is Keitaro-san." Naru jerked a finger to KEitaro who tried to protest. "The old man there is Bill our boss." Naru pointed at Bill who returned to reading his newspaper. Bill just glanced and nodded at Shinobus direction.

"Hey why aren't you angry when a girl calls you old?" Keitaro asked his employer.

"They're cute, your not." Bill replied a matter-of-factly which made Keitaro slap his face again.

Shinobu giggled and introduced herself. "My name is Shinobu."

"So mind telling onee-chan why you were upset?" Naru asked. Shinobu confided with the woman and after the short telling of Shinobu's tale Naru was already in tears feeling righteous anger against the father who had the guts to cheat on his wife and family.

"What a horrible story!" Naru was crying a waterfall as she sniffled. "You poor little girl" Naru again had enveloped Shinobu in a hug. Again the girl looked like a cute stuffed toy being hugged by Naru.

"I guess you won't want to go back home just yet." Keitaro stated. Shinobu managed to nod albeit being hugged tightly by Naru.

"I know why we don't let her stay with us for while until she feels she can face her parents again." Naru suggested suddenly.

"I guess we can, but won't her parent come looking for her?" Keitaro said.

"If they come, it's up to Shinobu-chan to decide on what to do herself." Naru said looking down on the girl with a smile. Shinobu blushed and also smiled.

"Well how about it do you want to come with us for a while?" Keitaro asked and Shinobu blushed when Keitaro looked into her eyes. The little girl's heart started to beat faster and quickly turned her red face away. She squeaked out a reply of "yes" and Naru hugged her tighter while squealing on how cute Shinobu was.

82211564251214231584231584231

Keitaro and Naru had comeback to the apartments with Shinobu. Naru quickly pulled Shinobu towards the hotsprings to spend sometime with her. Keitaro decided to start preparing dinner. He then remembered Motoko who was probably still up in the roof deck practicing. Keitaro went up to fetch her before cooking thinking she might want to take a bath with Naru and Shinobu before eating.

"Aoyama-san?" Keitaro called out looking around the roof and saw Motoko sat against a post resting. He walked up to her to wake her up when suddenly she jumped to her feet and stuck Keitaro on the head with her _Bokken_. Even if it was only a wooded sword Keitaro dropped donw unconscious with Motoko waking up to see Keitaro lying on the floor.

Motoko panicked and quickly screamed for help which Naru came running up clad in only a towel to see Keitaro on the floor.

"What happened?" Naru asked out of breathe and still wet.

"I accidently struck Urashima-san. I was meditating when he came up to me and startled me I didn't mean to hit him." Motoko said panicked. It was a rare site to see her so out of it like this. Motoko usually was always calm and collected when dealing with situations.

"Motoko-chan calm down he's just unconscious hell be alright later." Naru said consoling the woman. "How can you tell?" Motoko asked.

"I took up first aid and he's alright so don't worry."Motoko was relieved to hear that and finally calmed down.

Motoko then noticed another person behind Naru who was also wet and lacking clothing. Motoko looked at her intensely which made Shinobu flinch. The auburn beauty noticing Motoko's line of sight introduced Shinobu. She told her of her predicament and for the nth time that day Shinobu was enveloped again in mighty hug.

"That horrible man." Motoko said and Naru nodded.

"Motoko-chan, help me with Keitaro-san here. Let's get him down to his room." Naru had positioned herself above Keitaro's head and Motoko released Shinobu and walked to Naru's side. They hoisted him up by the shoulder and dragged him to his room.

4561895465165156151321561

After getting Keitaro into bed Naru and Motoko were now facing a new problem.

Dinner.

Keitaro wasn't able to prepare their food before Motoko accidently knock him out. Now hey have nothing to eat and can't cook unless they want to burn the place down with Keitaro still in it.

"I guess its take out then." Naru sighed and Motoko nodded sadly.

"I was looking forward to that Pork Tonkatsu he cooks so well." Naru said sounding disappointed.

"Well we could try cooking it. I have seen him do it before and it does not look as hard as cooking curry." Motoko said.

"Yes and last time we tried cooking what we thought was easy, we didn't even got to boil water." Naru interjected.

"You are right." The swordswoman sighed.

"I can cook if you want." Shinobu said to the two older women. Her demeanor had changed a bit when she looks up at them saying she would cook.

"With the ingredients here I can cook what you want, it's really easy." Shinobu looked around the Kitchen inspecting the ingredients.

"If you don't mind me using your kitchen." Shinobu asked. Both older women agreed and let her cook. The two women were a bit taken a back when Shinobu started cooking. The lithe girl looked graceful while in the kitchen, it was like she was in her own world. They couldn't believe she was the same shy little girl earlier as she dashed around the kitchen and worked the stove.

After a while Naru and Motoko were seated at table gaping. They were now looking at a banquet with the beautifully prepared meat and vegetables. The presentation looked like one of those feast prepared by high class chefs in five star restaurant Naru had seen in magazines.

"Y-you made this?" Naru gaped as she looked at the delicious looking delicacies presented before her. Motoko was equally stupefied by the little girl's skills in the culinary field.

"Please t-taste it." Shinobu had reverted back to the shy little girl after she finished preparing the food. "I hope you like it."

Naru and Motoko took their chopsticks and started to eat. After tasting a dish of Pork and steamed vegetables both erupted in tears and hugged Shinobu.

"This is wonderful!" Naru exclaimed.

"Yes you are a culinary angel sent from heaven!" Motoko proclaimed. Shinobu blushed from the compliments. Letting the little girl go, the trio started to eat the well prepared food while continuing to praise the young chef.

"Uaghhh…What hit me?" Keitaro had finally come to and walked down to see if the girls had gone out to eat. He then smelled a delicious aroma and followed it to the kitchen. He was surprised to see the awesome spread on the table being eaten by the three girls.

"Wow where did this come from?" Keitaro asked sitting beside Naru.

"Shinobu-chan made it!" Naru exclaimed "She's really good at cooking" The woman said between mouthful of food.

"Really you made all of this, wow" Keitaro said looking at the bluenette. Shinobu flushed and nodded. "Please have a taste." She offered. Keitaro took a plate and a pair of chopsticks and tasted the pork that was marinated with sweet and sour sauce.

He chewed on the tasty piece of meat and it showered his taste bud with awesome flavors.

"Wow it really is good. It's better than my cooking!" Keitaro exclaimed. "You're awesome Shinobu-san." Keitaro said smiling at her. Shinobu's face quickly went red as a tomato and she felt her heart skip a beat when he praised her.

"It's nothing really." She said shyly.

"Where did you learn to cook this good Shinobu-san if you don't mind telling me?" Keitaro asked when a knock on the door interrupted their meal. Keitaro stood up to answer the door and was greeted by a man in his forty's wearing a suit.

"Excuse me, has a Maehara Shinobu checked in here by any chance?" The man asked.

"Why do you ask? Who are if you don't mind telling?"

"I'm her father."


End file.
